Group Therapy
by Kylink
Summary: Lucina finds comfort in confiding with a Smasher she's always believed to be apathetic towards everything.


"N-No, you can't…Father, no….AHHHHHH!"

_*Thud*_

Lucina found herself struggling in a never-ending wrestling match with her bed sheets as she tried desperately to get up from the ground. She sighed out of relief and annoyance once she finally managed to untangle herself from that mess. This was the eighth time that month she had that same dream since coming to the tournament. Bags were starting to form under her eyes from lack of sleep which these persisting nightmares caused. It was even getting to the point where she was dreading night time and falling asleep because she knew she would have those dreams.

"_Great…chalk this up on the number of nights I haven't slept." _Lucina sighed again as she silently walked out of her room, careful to not wake her roommate Robin up. Thank goodness he didn't see her fall out of the bed.

"_I swear, that guy sleeps like a rock…I'm almost envious of him." _Being amnesic must have had its benefits, Lucina inwardly mused to herself as she walked alone through the dark, deserted hallways of Smash Mansion.

She had no idea where she was going, though she knew she wanted to get to the kitchen. This place was so big, and the fact that it was still nighttime made her fear she was going to get lost. She really regretted not bringing Falchion with her, even though she'd have no use for it other than to provide her with some sense of security (then again, it would be weird for her to be caught carrying a sacred blade whilst wearing light pink pajamas).

A clash of thunder sounded outside, causing the young woman to jump as she stifled a yelp that threatened to come out. It seemed that a storm was beginning to brew outside. Wonderful…storms always brought back bad memories with them, and right now she was trying to forget her past, not drown in a wave of mentally-tormenting nostalgia. But no matter how hard she tried to forget, the images of her father dead on the floor, Grima opening his mouth with his fangs bared to swallow her whole, soldier after countless soldier being mercilessly butchered by Risen all flashed in her mind at once. And now she had the worst case of insomnia ever. At the rate her mental state was deteriorating, it was only a matter of time before she would start having nightmares in the daytime as well. Daymares?

It was while she was deeply pondering these things when Lucina finally found herself outside of the kitchen, but now her stomach was aching and she didn't want anything to eat. Besides, she didn't know if she would get in trouble in the event someone would catch her. It was when she was about to turn around and leave did she notice that the light was on, so someone must have been inside. Curious, she peeked through the tiny, square windows in the door to see who was in there. She caught a glimpse of straight, golden locks all pulled up in a ponytail, and she immediately knew who it was.

"Wonder what's keeping her up." She muttered.

Samus Aran was one of the veteran smashers at the mansion, as well as one of the most reserved. She remembered reading about her in a logbook from the mansion's library, detailing everything about her life and past adventures. The way the books described her, she seemed like a fierce woman who was a killing machine. Of course, she had seen her matches as well, and she fought as scarily as she did with her suit on. There were also popular rumors of her, saying that you wouldn't want to get on her bad side, because the things she would do to you would be way worse than dying (then again, these were mostly rumors traded among the male smashers). In short, Lucina thought she was…heartless. It didn't help that she often trained by herself, sat alone during meals, and she always wore a constant glare on her face. Not to mention, she carried her paralyzer gun wherever she went. It was no wonder everyone was so afraid of her.

Lucina came back to her senses when she realized she was staring. Luckily, Samus hadn't noticed yet since she was preoccupied with something over the stove. Exhaling deeply, she decided to finally just enter the kitchen, hoping that the bounty hunter wouldn't pay her any mind while she rummaged through the fridge. To her surprise, there was hardly anything in there…weird considering that so many people were living in the mansion at the same time. How could they run out of food?

"Yoshi and Kirby tend to go on fridge raids when everyone else is sleeping." She turned around when she realized Samus was talking to her, something she certainly wasn't expecting. "We'll send someone to restock the food supply tomorrow."

"O-Oh, I see." Lucina sighed as she shut the fridge. Well, there was nothing else for her to do in the kitchen, but she didn't feel like returning to her room just yet. The mere thought of sleep reminded her of the terrible nightmares she experienced, and she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Trying to take her mind off of it, she directed her attention to what Samus was doing. The bounty hunter was hovering over the stove, a sandwich of some sorts sizzling away in the pan. Whatever she was making, it sure smelled delicious.

"What is that?" She asked, her voice a little quiet from shyness and apprehension of the "frightening" bounty hunter.

However, Samus didn't look annoyed at the question as a small smile came to her lips. "You're one of the newcomers…Lucina, was it? Marth's descendant?

"Th-That's right."

"I see. Yeah, I forget you're from a world that's a little behind the times. This is a grilled cheese sandwich."

"You…grill the cheese? But doesn't it melt?"

"Well…you put the cheese in between the bread, then butter the pan to grill it."

"That sounds good."

"Trust me, it is. Ah," Samus took her spatula and scooped the sandwich out of the pan. "It's finally ready."

Lucina's mouth watered as she watched Samus place it onto a plate and carefully cut it in half with a knife. Steam rose from the melted cheese that was oozing between the two golden brown toasted bread slices, with a delectable smell accompanying it. Her stomach began to rumble.

"Is there anymore bread and cheese left?" Lucina asked, unable to ignore her hunger any longer.

Samus shook her head. "Sorry. This was all that was left after Kirby and Yoshi raided the fridge. But you can have half of mine."

"Oh, no I shouldn't…"

"Really, it's nothing. Besides, I can hear your stomach growling from here."

Lucina blushed; she was hoping it wasn't that obvious. Seeing that she wasn't going to win this, she decided to relent and took half of Samus's sandwich, letting out a shy "thanks" as she did so. Samus merely chuckled and began to munch on her half. Lucina followed suit, only to be overcome by an intense feeling of pure bliss as the incredible flavor touched her taste buds. The combination of buttered toast with melted cheese was just too perfect, and before she knew it she devoured the entire thing in thirty seconds. Samus eyed her intently.

"Wow…if you were that hungry, I would have just offered you all of mine." She commented.

Lucina found herself turning red again. "P-Please forgive my impoliteness…"

"No, it's not a big deal. I'm glad someone appreciates my cooking." Samus winked as she went back to eating her heavenly treat. Lucina sat there, dumbfounded. This was a different side of the same woman who fought with such ferocity during matches, the woman who blew up planets and single-handedly wiped out an entire alien species. She was a force to be reckoned with and feared, yet here she was sharing her sandwich with someone she didn't know that well. Lucina knew to never judge a book by its cover, but she just wasn't expecting Samus to be so…nice.

"Is something wrong?" Samus's voice snapped her back to reality. "You're staring off into space."

"It's nothing, I was just…just thinking." Lucina responded, hoping the bounty hunter wouldn't question her further about it.

Fortunately, she didn't and just changed the subject. "So, are you getting along fine in the mansion?"

"Oh, yes. It was so exciting to meet Marth and Ike. And there's so many others who are very interesting to talk to as well. I still, uh, get lost though when I'm walking throughout the mansion."

"Ha, yeah it's pretty big. And how are your matches going?"

"I'd say I'm doing pretty decent. I won my last two matches, but had to forfeit one yesterday because I wasn't feeling well."

"I saw that. What happened with that?"

"Oh, just…been really tired lately."

"Are you getting enough sleep?"

"Well, um…" Lucina wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't want to trouble Samus by telling her how she was having nightmares, but she also didn't want to lie to someone she was getting along fine with, especially when she was a little scared of her. Decisions, decisions…

"…No. I'm really not." She finally admitted.

"Hm, how come?"

The bounty hunter sure asked a lot of questions, but maybe that was because she was trying to make small talk? Lucina wasn't sure, but she knew for sure that she wanted to tell someone about these nightmares. She was tired of faking a smile and trying to keep up a brave front when she was trembling like an earthquake from fear on the inside.

Lucina took in a deep breath and said, "Because I have really bad nightmares. They cause me to lose sleep. In fact, I haven't had a good night's rest in a little over a month."

Samus gazed at her, her brow furrowing with concern. "That's not good at all. Have you tried talking to someone about these nightmares?"

"I wanted to…but I can't!" Lucina suddenly raised her voice defensively. "I can't tell anyone about these dreams because I'm a warrior. I'm supposed to be strong. If I show any sort of weakness, then people will lose their faith in me and I can't let that happen. Not when I'm supposed to be a leader…"

"Slow down," Samus gripped the young girl's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. "It's not like you're fighting a war here. And there's nothing wrong with having nightmares. We've heard about the stuff you've faced in your world, so that's understandable why you'd have these dreams."

For a long time, Lucina didn't say anything. Her eyes stung from tears that were beginning to form, but she couldn't let them fall now. After a few minutes, she shook her head.

"There is something wrong with having these nightmares." She whispered. "We fought Grima and defeated him. No one was lost. We won and the world was saved. All the terrors are over now. But even still…I have dreams where Grima comes back to life and kills my father. My home is destroyed and the civilians are brutally torn apart. Other nights, I dream I fail my mission and the world is destroyed once again." Her voice was starting to crack, but Samus ignored it and let her continue. "A-And…even in the daytime, I still…quake with worry, thinking that those awful dreams might one day come true…and I can do nothing to stop it…"

Silence fell over the two as Samus was staring hard at the empty plate in front of her while Lucina was trying to regain her composure. Her chest and mind felt lighter after revealing everything to the bounty hunter, but she still felt like she was about to start crying for some reason.

"I'm sorry…" Lucina's voice was faltering. "I-I don't mean to…dump this on you all at once…"

"Would you believe me if I said…that I can empathize with your situation?"

The swordswoman glanced at her with curiosity. She knew without a doubt that Samus was one of the more stronger fighters, so to hear that she could understand and actually _feel _what she was going through was certainly unexpected. From what little the logbooks had about Samus, Lucina gathered that she was orphaned at a young age and was raised by an alien race known as the Chozo, but it never told her anything more than that. She could only wonder what other tribulations the bounty hunter had suffered through that she didn't know about.

"It's true." Samus answered as if she could read Lucina's thoughts. "You see, I have something called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, where certain things can trigger some traumatizing flashbacks of my past, and I have terrible mental breakdowns. Of course, I don't tell a lot of people about it because, like you, I'm supposed to be a fearless bounty hunter. I have an image to keep up."

Lucina blinked in surprise. "That must be awful!"

Samus shrugged. "I've been getting better with it, but it's something I can never truly get over. The only thing I can do is to just keep moving forward and not think about it."

Minutes of silence passed as Lucina contemplated Samus's words. She still couldn't wrap her mind around the thought of the ever-so-fearless Samus putting up with constant nightmares and terror-induced flashbacks for most of her life, yet still standing strong and proud like nothing could affect her.

"How do you do it?" She couldn't help but ask. "How can you endure these horrifying images and not lose your sanity?"

Samus chuckled as she rested her chin on her fists. "It's not easy. In fact, if you saw how I was a few years ago, you'd be surprised. Instead of naturally being by myself, I purposely chose to isolate myself from everyone. My reason for this was because anyone who I ever grew close to always ended up dying in some gruesome way in the end. I thought I was dangerous, like I was cursed to watch my loved ones die off one by one. I felt like if anyone dared to approach me, they too would meet a horrible fate, and I would have to live with that memory and hurt for the rest of my life."

Lucina noticed that as she was talking, Samus's voice had grown softer, her expression became solemn, and her eyes were twinkling with sadness and grief. Even now, the battle-hardened warrior still found it quite difficult to recount some painful memories without feeling some remorse. At least these feelings reminded her that she was still human, no matter how many lives she had taken.

"But no matter what precautionary measures I took, none of them would ever stop the nightmares and breakdowns I constantly experienced." She continued. "That's when I realized…having a psychological disorder wasn't a sign of weakness. It just meant that I couldn't walk out of a battle without being scarred in some way, be it physical or mental. And overtime, those scars would eventually fade. So I decided that I couldn't let this affliction get the better of me. I was going to overcome it, like I did with my adversaries so many times before. But I couldn't do it alone. I knew that without the support I needed, I wouldn't be able to make any progress. So I tore down the walls I built around myself, and starting reaching out to people more. My friends in my world and the fighters here at the tournaments have been all but supportive in this struggle with PTSD, and I knew from then on that I was able to draw strength from their encouragement and not let my past overwhelm me."

"So, that's how you've been dealing with it?"

"Yes. Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not out in the clear yet. To this day, I still have sporadic panic attacks. In fact, tonight was one of those nights where I couldn't fall back to sleep because of a nightmare. But I know that tomorrow's another day, and if disaster just so happens to strike again, I know I have the potential to fight back."

"You're really brave, Samus." Lucina smiled at her. "I wish I had your strength."

"Hey now," Samus took her hands into hers. "The same goes for you too. You're not the only one who struggles with nightmares, Lucina. Each one of us has gone through some sort of traumatizing experience that has left us scarred and broken. But when we find the courage to talk openly about these fears, then we can become strong enough to overcome them. So please, don't ever think you're alone in this. We'll always be there to support you."

Lucina didn't know what to say, but she was very touched by Samus's words. She nearly started tearing up again. "T-Truly?"

"Truly." The blonde-haired woman smiled as she turned around. "In fact, here's someone who can also help right now. I think you two know each other quite well at this point."

Lucina followed Samus's gaze until it landed on someone else who just entered the kitchen. Marth was clad in a white t-shirt and loose grey pants, and by the looks of it, he seemed to have just woken up.

"Evening, Sam." He mumbled tiredly as he rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes. They widened when he noticed the other person. "Oh, and Lucina's here too?"

"That's right."

Lucina nervously bowed. "E-Evening, Lord Marth."

Marth let out a laugh as he took a seat next to Lucina. "No need for titles, Lucina. We're all equals here, especially since you're my descendant."

"So, what's keeping you up this late?" Samus asked, already knowing the answer. "Nightmare?"

"Nightmare." Marth sighed and gazed down at the floor. "This time, it was my sister…"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah, I will. But first I want to ask: Lucina, what brings you here in the dead of night?"

"O-Oh, um…" Lucina played with her hands nervously. "I…also had a nightmare."

"Ah, I see. So are you joining our ranks now?"

"Huh?"

"Marth and I kind of started our own group therapy." Samus explained. "Remember what I said about nightmares and discussing our fears? That's how we cope here at the tournaments. As I mentioned, there's a lot of people here like you who suffer from horrible nightmares. Even your great ancestor Marth has his fears. We all get together occasionally and just get these feelings off our minds."

Marth nodded in agreement. "We're human, so fear is a natural response to horrifying events. Nothing we can do about that. We normally have more people here, but my guess is that they're having pleasant dreams tonight. But Samus is right. Be it late at dusk or the break of dawn, you can easily talk with one of us and we'll be ready to help you out. After all, we all have each other's backs."

Lucina smiled, a warm feeling rising up in her chest. "Thanks, you guys."

The young princess learned something valuable that night as she talked the hours away with her new friends. No matter what sort of traumatic events she was forced to go through, or how long it would take her mind to recover from those memories, she could always count on the people who understood her pain to help bring her out of it. She couldn't escape her mind, but with the support from her friends and allies, she knew that she could be strong enough to face these fears head on.


End file.
